Book Review: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Title– Fish in a Tree

Author- Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Publisher– Nancy Paulsen Books

Amazon- http://goo.gl/QlNdx6

BOOK SUMMERY:

Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions.  She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.

MY THOUGHTS:

“You know, a wise person once said, ‘Everyone is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, its will spend its whole life thinking that its stupid.”

I loved, loved, loved this book!! It might be because I am a teacher and I work with many special education students, but this story really touched me. As a teacher I see some students struggling everyday.

As much as I loved Aly and all her friends, I thought that the teacher stole the show for me. Mr. Daniels was funny and able to teacher at the same time and the students in the book seemed to really like him. I also like that he was able to pinpoint what was wrong with Aly and that she just wasn’t trying to act up, she was acting up because she needed the help.

I think that every student in this wonderful class grown together and learned that everyone is different and that doesn’t mean that they are dumb or a freak. Making this a great book for young readers to read. Maybe that one child will have this book read to them and they could find that they are similar to Aly or maybe one of the other characters.

This was of course a great read and I am so happy it was recommended to me. It was a heart-warming easy read that was hard to put down!!